1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for setting an image-processing parameter value when image data captured with a digital camera and stored in a storage medium is to be read out and printed.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand for the ability to domestically print out images captured with digital cameras has increased with the recent popularization of digital cameras. Generally, in order to print out an image captured with a digital camera, a personal computer (which will be referred to as a PC hereinafter) is connected to a storage-medium reading device (which will be referred to as a memory card reader hereinafter). Moreover, a storage medium (which will be referred to as a memory card hereinafter) storing the image captured with the digital camera is installed in the memory card reader, and the image data is then downloaded into the PC. By connecting the PC to a printer, the image data can be printed out.
Direct printers and multifunction printers that provide multiple functions in a single unit (which will be referred to as an MFP hereinafter) are commercially available as user-friendly printers for users that are not accustomed to operating PCs. These printers are provided with a memory card slot for inserting a memory card storing images captured with a digital camera. Moreover, these printers are also provided with an operating portion, which may be operated for selecting the image to be printed, the paper size, or the number of prints to be made. Accordingly, these printers provide easy printing even for users that are not accustomed to operating PCs.
Moreover, as an easy method for designating the settings in MFPs for a printing operation, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-273973 discloses an example that applies a setting sheet for designating the settings for a printing operation. Specifically, a print-setting sheet is first printed in a manner such that the print-setting sheet shows a list of images stored in a memory card installed in the MFP and marking areas for selecting the images. The user may put a check mark in a marking area corresponding to an image to be printed. The marked print-setting sheet is then set on a document holder of the MFP. The sheet is scanned so that the mark is detected. Subsequently, the image corresponding to the detected mark is printed. By performing this series of steps, the user can readily obtain a print of the desired image.
Furthermore, for a selected image file, a plurality of samples having different image-processing parameter values is printed out in an arranged form. One of the samples is selected and marked. The image-processing parameter value corresponding to the sample selected on the print-setting sheet is used for processing the selected image, and a print of the selected image is obtained.
However, according to the method for designating an image-processing parameter value disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-273973, since the printing operation for the selected image is performed after selecting one of the samples having different image-processing parameter values, a large number of samples must be printed at one time if there are many image-processing parameters or if the allowable range of the value for each parameter is wide. This is problematic in leading to high consumption of paper and recording materials, such as ink. For example, if there are two types of settable image-processing parameters and each type consists of nine settable levels, 81 samples (9×9) must be printed in order to cover all selectable combinations of the parameter values. This not only leads to high consumption of the recording materials but also requires a large amount of time for printing out the setting sheet. On the other hand, if the number of samples is reduced in order to hold down the consumption of paper and recording materials, some selectable combinations of the parameter values will be missing since some of the samples will not be printed out. Consequently, this will limit the selectable number of the samples. As a result, even though some values should originally be settable, since not all of the samples are printed out, there may be cases where the printing operation must be performed based on inappropriate image-processing parameter values.
In known image processing systems, when there are multiple combinations in the settings of image-processing parameter values, there are problems related with high consumption of recording materials and inappropriate settings of image-processing parameter values due to the limited number of samples with respect to the paper size. Therefore, there is a need for an image processing system in which the value can be set more precisely for the image-processing parameter. In particular, if there are many image-processing parameters or if the allowable range of the value for each parameter is wide, the value for each parameter should be capable of being readily set with high precision, thus increasing the level of convenience for users.